Speaker 1: Story number fifteen of Dubliner's. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: by Hugh MacGuire. Dubliner's by James Joyce. Story fifteen, The
Speaker 1: Dead Part one. Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run
Speaker 1: off her feet. Hardly has she brought one gentleman into
Speaker 1: the little pantry behind the office on the ground floor
Speaker 1: and helped him off with his overcoat. Than the wheezy
Speaker 1: hall door bell clanged again, and she had to scamper
Speaker 1: along the bare hallway to let in another guest. It
Speaker 1: was well for her. She had not to attend to
Speaker 1: the ladies also, but Miss Kate and Miss Julia had
Speaker 1: thought of that and had converted the bathroom upstairs into
Speaker 1: a ladies dressing room. Miss Kate and Miss Julia were there,
Speaker 1: gossiping and laughing and fussing, walking after each other to
Speaker 1: the head of the stairs, peering down over the banisters
Speaker 1: and calling down to Lily to ask her who had come.
Speaker 1: It was always a great affair the missus Morcan's annual dance.
Speaker 1: Everybody who knew them, came to it. Members of the family,
Speaker 1: old friends of the family, the members of Julia's choir,
Speaker 1: any of Kate's pupils that were grown up enough, and
Speaker 1: some of Mary Jane's pupils too. Never once had had
Speaker 1: fallen flat. For years and years it had gone off
Speaker 1: in splendid style as long as anyone could remember, ever
Speaker 1: since Kate and Julia, after the death of their brother Pat,
Speaker 1: had left the house in Stony Batter and taken Mary Jane,
Speaker 1: their only niece, to live with them in the dark
Speaker 1: gaunt house on Usher's Island, the upper part of which
Speaker 1: they had rented from mister Fulham, the corn factor on
Speaker 1: the ground floor. That was a good thirty years years ago,
Speaker 1: if it was a day. Mary Jane, who was then
Speaker 1: a little girl in short clothes, was now the main
Speaker 1: prop of the household, for she had the organ in
Speaker 1: Haddington Road, She had been through the Academy and gave
Speaker 1: a pupils concert every year in the upper room of
Speaker 1: the antient concert rooms. Many of her pupils belonged to
Speaker 1: the better class families on the Kingstown and Dalkey line,
Speaker 1: old as they were. Her aunts also did their share. Julia,
Speaker 1: though she was quite gray, was still the leading soprano
Speaker 1: in Adam and Eves, and Kate, being too feeble to
Speaker 1: go about much, gave music lessons to beginners on the
Speaker 1: old square piano in the back room. Lily, the caretaker's daughter,
Speaker 1: did housemaids work for them. Though their life was modest,
Speaker 1: they believed in eating well, the best of everything, diamond bone,
Speaker 1: Sirloin's three shilling tea and the best bottled stout. But
Speaker 1: Lily seldom made a mistake in the orders, so that
Speaker 1: she got on well with her three mistresses. They were fussy,
Speaker 1: that was all. But the only thing they would not
Speaker 1: stand was back answers. Of course, they had good reason
Speaker 1: to be fussy on such a night, and then it
Speaker 1: was long after ten o'clock, and yet there was no
Speaker 1: sign of Gabrielle and his wife. Besides, they were dreadfully
Speaker 1: afraid that Freddy Malins might turn up screwed. They would
Speaker 1: not wish for worlds that any of Mary Jane's pupils
Speaker 1: should see him under the influence, and when he was
Speaker 1: like that, it was sometimes very hard to manage him.
Speaker 1: Freddy Malins always came late, but they wondered what could
Speaker 1: be keeping Gabriel, and that was what brought them every
Speaker 1: two minutes to the banisters to ask Lily, had Gabriel
Speaker 1: or Freddy come? Oh, mister Conroy, said Lily to gabrielle
Speaker 1: When she opened the door for him, Miss Kate and
Speaker 1: Miss Julia thought you were never were coming. Good night,
Speaker 1: Missus Conroy. I'll engage, they did, said Gabriel, But they
Speaker 1: forget that my wife here takes three mortal hours to
Speaker 1: dress herself. He stood on the mat, scraping the snow
Speaker 1: from his galoshes, while Lily led his wife to the
Speaker 1: foot of the stairs and called out, miss Kate, here's
Speaker 1: Missus Conroy. Kate and Julia came toddling down the dark stairs.
Speaker 1: At once both of them kissed. Gabriel's wife said she
Speaker 1: must be perished alive, and asked, was Gabriel with her here?
Speaker 1: I am right as the mail, Aunt Kate, go on up,
Speaker 1: I'll follow, called out Gabriel from the dark. He continued
Speaker 1: scraping his feet vigorously while the three women went upstairs,
Speaker 1: laughing to the ladies dressing room. A light fringe of
Speaker 1: snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat,
Speaker 1: and like toe caps on the toes of his galoshes,
Speaker 1: and as the buttons of his overcoat boat slipped with
Speaker 1: a squeaking noise through the snow stiffened frieze. A cold,
Speaker 1: fragrant air from out of doors escaped from crevices and folds.
Speaker 1: Is it snowing again? Mister Conroy asked Lily. She had
Speaker 1: preceded him into the pantry to help him off with
Speaker 1: his overcoat. Gabriel smiled at the three syllables she had
Speaker 1: given his surname, and glanced at her. She was a slim,
Speaker 1: growing girl, pale in complexion, with hay colored hair. The
Speaker 1: gas in the pantry made her look still paler. Gabriel
Speaker 1: had known her when she was a child and used
Speaker 1: to sit on the lowest step nursing and ragged all. Yes, Lily,
Speaker 1: he answered, and I think we're in for a night
Speaker 1: of it. He looked up at the pantry ceiling, which
Speaker 1: was shaking with the stamping and shuffling of feet on
Speaker 1: the floor above, listened for a moment to the piano,
Speaker 1: and then glanced at the girl who was folding his
Speaker 1: overcoat carefully at the end of a shelf. Tell me, Lily,
Speaker 1: he said, in a friendly tone. Do you still go
Speaker 1: to school? Oh, no, sir, she answered, I'm done schooling
Speaker 1: this year and more. Oh, then said Gabriel gaily, I
Speaker 1: suppose we'll be going to your wedding one of these
Speaker 1: fine days with your young man. Eh. The girl glanced
Speaker 1: back at him over her shoulder and said, with great bitterness,
Speaker 1: the men that is now is only all palaver and
Speaker 1: what they can get out of you. Gabriel colored as
Speaker 1: if he felt he had made a mistake, and without
Speaker 1: looking at her, kicked off his gloshes and flicked actively
Speaker 1: with his muffler and his pat leather shoes. He was
Speaker 1: a stout, tallish young man. The high color of his
Speaker 1: cheeks pushed upwards even to his forehead, where it scattered
Speaker 1: itself in a few formless patches of pale red and
Speaker 1: on his hairless face. There scintillated restlessly the polished lenses
Speaker 1: and the bright gilt rims of the glasses which screened
Speaker 1: his delicate and restless eyes. His glossy black hair was
Speaker 1: parted in the middle and brushed in a long curve
Speaker 1: behind his ears, where it curled slightly beneath the groove
Speaker 1: left by his hat. When he had flicked luster into
Speaker 1: his shoes. He stood up and pulled his waistcoat down
Speaker 1: more tightly on his plump body. Then he took a
Speaker 1: coin rapidly from his pocket. Oh, lily, he said, thrusting
Speaker 1: it into her hands. It's Christmas time, isn't it. Er?
Speaker 1: Just here's a little He walked rapidly towards the door.
Speaker 1: Oh no, sir, cried the girl, following after him. Really, sir,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't take it. Christmas time, Christmas time, said Gabriel,
Speaker 1: almost trotting to the stairs and waving his hand to
Speaker 1: her in depreciation. The girl, seeing that he had gained
Speaker 1: the stairs, called out after him, well, thank you, sir.
Speaker 1: He waited outside the drawing room until the waltz should finish,
Speaker 1: listening to the skirts that swept against it, and to
Speaker 1: the shuffling of feet. He was still discomposed by the
Speaker 1: girl's bitter and sudden retort. It had cast a gloom
Speaker 1: over him, which he tried to dispel by arranging his
Speaker 1: cuffs and the bows of his tie. He then took
Speaker 1: from his waistcoat pocket a little paper and glanced at
Speaker 1: the headings he had made for his speech. He was
Speaker 1: undecided about the lines from Robert Browning, for he feared
Speaker 1: they should be above the heads of his hearers. Some
Speaker 1: quotation that they would recognize from Shakespeare or from the
Speaker 1: melodies would be better. The indelicate clacking of men's heels
Speaker 1: and shuffling of their souls reminded him that their grade
Speaker 1: of culture differed from his. He would only make himself
Speaker 1: ridiculous by quoting poetry to them which they could not understand.
Speaker 1: They would think that he was airing his superior education.
Speaker 1: He would fail with them, just as he had failed
Speaker 1: with the girl in the pantry. He had taken up
Speaker 1: a wrong tone. His whole speech was a mistake from them,
Speaker 1: first to last, an utter failure. Just then, his aunts
Speaker 1: and his wife came out of the ladies dressing room.
Speaker 1: His aunts were two small, plainly dressed old women, and
Speaker 1: Julia was an inch or so the taller. Her hair
Speaker 1: drawn low over the top of her ears, was gray
Speaker 1: and gray. Also with darker shadows was her large, flaccid face.
Speaker 1: Though she was stout in build and stood erect, her
Speaker 1: slow eyes and parted lips gave her the appearance of
Speaker 1: a woman who did not know where she was or
Speaker 1: where she was going. Aunt Kate was more vivacious, her
Speaker 1: face healthier than her sister's, was all puckers and creases
Speaker 1: like a shriveled red apple, and her hair, braided in
Speaker 1: the same old fashioned way, had not lost its ripe
Speaker 1: nut color. They both kissed Gabriel frankly. He was their
Speaker 1: favorite nephew, the son of their dead elder sister Ellen,
Speaker 1: who had married T. J. Conroy of the Ports and Docks.
Speaker 1: Gretta tells me you're not going to take a cab
Speaker 1: back to Monkstown tonight, Gabriel said, Aunt Kate. No, said Gabriel,
Speaker 1: turning to his wife. We had quite enough of that
Speaker 1: last year, hadn't we. Don't you remember, Aunt Kate, what
Speaker 1: a cold Gretta got out of it, cab windows rattling
Speaker 1: all the way, and the east wind blowing in after
Speaker 1: we passed Marian. Very jolly it was. Greta caught a
Speaker 1: dreadful cold. Aunt Kate frowned severely and nodded her head
Speaker 1: at every word. Quite right, Gabriel, Quite right, she said,
Speaker 1: you can't be too careful. But as for Greta, there,
Speaker 1: said Gabriel. She'd walk home in the snow if she were.
Speaker 1: Let missus Conroy laughed. Don't mind him, Aunt Kate, She said,
Speaker 1: he's really an awful bother, what with green shades for
Speaker 1: Tom's eyes at night, and making him do the dumb bells,
Speaker 1: and forcing Eva to eat the stir about the poor child,
Speaker 1: and she simply hates the sight of it. Oh but
Speaker 1: you'll never guess what he makes me wear now. She
Speaker 1: broke out into a peal of laughter and glanced at
Speaker 1: her husband, whose admiring and happy eyes had been wandering
Speaker 1: from her dress to her face and hair. The two
Speaker 1: aunts laughed heartily too, for Gabriel's solicitude was a standing
Speaker 1: joke with them. Galoshes, said Missus Conroy, that's the latest.
Speaker 1: Whenever it's wet underfoot, I must put on my goloshes tonight.
Speaker 1: Even he wanted me to put them on, but I wouldn't.
Speaker 1: The next thing you'll buy me will be a diving suit.
Speaker 1: Gabriel laughed nervously and patted his tie reassuringly, while Aunt
Speaker 1: Kate nearly doubled herself so heartily did she enjoy the joke.
Speaker 1: The smile soon faded from Aunt Julia's face, and her
Speaker 1: mirthless eyes were directed towards her nephew's face. After a pause,
Speaker 1: she asked, and what our galoshes? Gabriel ushes Julia exclaimed,
Speaker 1: your sister, goodness me, don't you know what goloshes are?
Speaker 1: You wear them over? You're over your boots, Greta, isn't it? Yes,
Speaker 1: said missus Conroy. Got a percha things. We both have
Speaker 1: a pair now. Gabriel says, everyone wears them on the continent. Oh,
Speaker 1: on the continent, murmured Aunt Julia, nodding her head slowly.
Speaker 1: Gabriel knitted his brows and said, as if he were
Speaker 1: slightly angered. It's nothing very wonderful. But Greta thinks it
Speaker 1: is very funny because she says the word reminds her
Speaker 1: of Christy minstrels. But tell me, Gabriel, said Aunt Kate,
Speaker 1: with brisk tact. Of course, you've seen about the room.
Speaker 1: Greta was saying, Oh, the room is all right, replied Gabriel.
Speaker 1: I've taken one in Gresham, to be sure, said Aunt Kate.
Speaker 1: By far the best thing to do. And the children, Greta,
Speaker 1: you're not anxious about them, oh for one night, said
Speaker 1: Missus Conroy. Besides, Bessie will look after them, to be sure,
Speaker 1: said Aunt Kate again, what a comfort it is to
Speaker 1: have a girl like that, one you can depend on.
Speaker 1: There's that Lily. I'm sure I don't know what has
Speaker 1: come over her lately. She's not the girl she was
Speaker 1: at all. Gabriel was about to ask his aunt some
Speaker 1: questions on this point, but she broke off suddenly to
Speaker 1: gaze after her sister, who had wandered down the stairs
Speaker 1: and was craning her neck over the banisters. Now I
Speaker 1: ask you, she said, almost testily, where is Julia going, Julia, Julia,
Speaker 1: where are you going? Julia, who had gone half way
Speaker 1: down one flight, came back and announced, blandly, here's Freddy.
Speaker 1: At the same moment, a clapping of hands and a
Speaker 1: final flourish of the pianist told that the waltz had ended.
Speaker 1: The drawing room door was opened from within, and some
Speaker 1: couples came out. Aunt Kate drew Gabriel aside hurriedly and
Speaker 1: whispered into his ear. Slip down Gabriel like a good fellow,
Speaker 1: and see if he's all right, and don't let him
Speaker 1: off if he's screwed. I'm sure he's screwed. I'm sure
Speaker 1: he is. Gabriel went to the stairs and listened over
Speaker 1: the banisters. He could hear two persons talking in the pantry.
Speaker 1: Then he recognized Freddy Mullins's laugh. He went down the
Speaker 1: stairs noisily. It's such a relief, said Aunt Kate to
Speaker 1: missus Conroy that Gabriel is here. I always feel easier
Speaker 1: in my mind when he's here. Julia, there's Miss Daly
Speaker 1: and Miss Power. Will take some refreshments. Thanks for your
Speaker 1: beautiful waltz, Miss Daly, it made lovely time. A tall,
Speaker 1: wizen faced man with a stiff, grizzled mustache and swarthy skin,
Speaker 1: who was passing out with his partner, said, and may
Speaker 1: we have some refreshment too, Miss Morgan, Julia, said Aunt
Speaker 1: Kate summarily. And here's mister Brown and Miss Furlong. Take
Speaker 1: them in, Julia, with Miss Daly and miss Power. I'm
Speaker 1: the man for the ladies, said mister Brown, pursing his
Speaker 1: lips into his mustache, bristled and smiling in all his wrinkles.
Speaker 1: You know, Miss Morkan, the reason they are so fond
Speaker 1: of me is he did not finish his sentence, but
Speaker 1: seeing that Aunt Kate was out of earshot, at once
Speaker 1: led the three young ladies into the back room. The
Speaker 1: middle of the room was occupied by two square tables
Speaker 1: placed end to end, and on these Aunt Julia and
Speaker 1: the caretaker were straightening and smoothing a large cloth. On
Speaker 1: the sideboard were arrayed dishes and plates and glasses, and
Speaker 1: bundles of knives and forks and spoons. The top of
Speaker 1: the closed square piano served also as a sideboard for
Speaker 1: yans and sweets. At a smaller sideboard in one corner,
Speaker 1: two young men were standing drinking hot bitters. Mister Brown
Speaker 1: led his charges thither and invited them all in jest
Speaker 1: to some lady's punch hot strong and sweet. As they
Speaker 1: said they never took anything strong. He opened three bottles
Speaker 1: of lemonade for them. Then he asked one of the
Speaker 1: young men to move aside, and taking hold of the decanter,
Speaker 1: filled out for himself a goodly measure of whisky. The
Speaker 1: young man eyed him respectfully while he took a trial's sip.
Speaker 1: God help me, he said, smiling, it's the doctor's orders.
Speaker 1: His wizened face broke into a broader smile, and the
Speaker 1: three young ladies laughed in a musical echo to his pleasantry,
Speaker 1: swaying their bodies to and fro with nervous jerks of
Speaker 1: their shoulders. The boldest said, oh, now, mister Brown, I'm
Speaker 1: sure the doctrine never ordered anything of the kind. Mister
Speaker 1: Brown took another sip of his whisky and said, with
Speaker 1: sidling mimicry. Well, you see, I'm like the famous Missus Cassidy,
Speaker 1: who's reported to have said, now, Merry Grimes, if I
Speaker 1: don't take it, make me take it, for I feel
Speaker 1: I want it. His hot face had leaned forward a
Speaker 1: little too confidently, and he had assumed a very low
Speaker 1: dublin accent, so that the young ladies, with one instinct,
Speaker 1: received his speech in silence. Miss Furlong, who is one
Speaker 1: of Mary Jane's pupils, asked Miss Daly what was the
Speaker 1: name of the pretty waltz she had played, and mister Brown,
Speaker 1: seeing that he was ignored, turned promptly to the two
Speaker 1: young men who were more appreciative. A red faced young
Speaker 1: woman dressed in pansy came into the room excitedly, clapping
Speaker 1: her hands and crying, quadrilles, quadrilles. Close on her heels
Speaker 1: came Aunt Kate, crying. Two gentlemen and three ladies Mary Jane, Oh,
Speaker 1: here's mister Burgan and mister Kerrigan, said Mary Jane. Mister Kerrigan,
Speaker 1: will you take miss Power, Miss Furlong, May I get
Speaker 1: you a partner mister Burgan. Oh that'll just do now,
Speaker 1: three ladies, Mary Jane, said Aunt Kate. The two young
Speaker 1: gentlemen asked the lady as if they might have the pleasure,
Speaker 1: and Mary Jane turned to Miss Daly. Oh, Miss Daly,
Speaker 1: you're really awfully good after playing for the last two dances.
Speaker 1: But really we're so short of ladies tonight. I don't
Speaker 1: mind in the least Miss Morgan, but I've a nice
Speaker 1: partner for you, mister Bartell Darcy the tenor. I'll get
Speaker 1: him to sing later on All Dublin is raving about him.
Speaker 1: Lovely voice, lovely voice, said Aunt Kate. As the piano
Speaker 1: had twice begun the prelude to the first figure. Mary
Speaker 1: Jane led her recruits quickly from the room. They had
Speaker 1: hardly gone when Aunt Julia wandered slowly into the room,
Speaker 1: looking behind her at something. What is the matter, Julia
Speaker 1: asked Aunt Kate anxiously. Who is it? Julia, who was
Speaker 1: carrying in a column of table napkins, turned to her
Speaker 1: sister and said simply, as if the question had surprised her.
Speaker 1: It's only Freddy Kate and Gabriel with him. In fact,
Speaker 1: right behind her, Gabriel could be seen piloting Freddy Malins
Speaker 1: across the landing. The latter, a young man of about forty,
Speaker 1: was of Gabriel's size and build, with very round shoulders.
Speaker 1: His face was fleshy and pallid, touched with color only
Speaker 1: at the thick hanging lobes of his ears and at
Speaker 1: the wide wings of his nose. He had coarse features,
Speaker 1: a blunt nose, a convex and receding brow, tumid and
Speaker 1: protruded lips, His heavy lidded eyes, and the disorder of
Speaker 1: his scanty hair made him look sleepy. He was laughing
Speaker 1: heartily in the high key at a story which he
Speaker 1: had been telling Gabriel on the stairs, and at the
Speaker 1: same time rubbing the knuckles of his left fist backwards
Speaker 1: and forwards into his left eye. Good evening, Freddy, said,
Speaker 1: Aunt Julia. Freddy Malins bade the Missus Morcan good evening
Speaker 1: in what seemed an offhand fashion by reason of the
Speaker 1: habitual catch in his voice, and then seeing that mister Brown,
Speaker 1: was grin at him from the sideboard, crossed the room
Speaker 1: on rather shaky legs, and began to repeat in an
Speaker 1: undertone the story he had just told Gabriel. He's not
Speaker 1: so bad as he said, Aunt Kate to Gabriel. Gabriel's
Speaker 1: brows were dark, but he raised them quickly and answered,
Speaker 1: oh no, hardly noticeable. Now, isn't he a terrible fellow?
Speaker 1: She said, and his poor mother made him take the
Speaker 1: pledge on New Year's Eve. But come on, Gabriel into
Speaker 1: the drawing room. Before leaving the room with Gabriel, she
Speaker 1: signaled to mister Brown by frowning and shaking her forefinger
Speaker 1: and warning to and fro. Mister Brown nodded in answer,
Speaker 1: and when she had gone, said to Freddy Malins, now, then, Teddy,
Speaker 1: I'm going to fill you out a good glass of lemonade,
Speaker 1: just to buck you up. Freddy Malins, who was nearing
Speaker 1: the climax of his story, waved the offer aside impatiently,
Speaker 1: but mister Brown, having first called Freddy Malins's attention to
Speaker 1: a disarray in his dress, philed out and handed him
Speaker 1: a glass full of lemonade. Freddy Malins's left hand accepted
Speaker 1: the glass mechanically, his right hand being engaged in the
Speaker 1: mechanical readjustment of his dress. Mister Brown, whose face was
Speaker 1: once more wrinkled with mirth, poured out for himself a
Speaker 1: glass of whisky, while Freddy Malins exploded before he had
Speaker 1: well reached the climax of his story in a kink
Speaker 1: of high pitched, bronchitic laughter, and setting down his untasted
Speaker 1: and overflowing glass, began to rub the knuckles of his
Speaker 1: left fists backwards and forwards into his left eye, repeating
Speaker 1: words of his last phrase as well as his fit
Speaker 1: of laughter would allow him. Gabriel could not listen while
Speaker 1: Mary Jane was playing her academy piece full of runs
Speaker 1: and difficult passages to the hushed drawing room. He liked music,
Speaker 1: but the piece she was playing had no melody for him,
Speaker 1: and he doubted whether it had any malady for the
Speaker 1: other listeners, though they had begged Mary Jane to play something.
Speaker 1: Four young men who had come from the refreshment room
Speaker 1: to stand in the doorway at the sound of the
Speaker 1: piano had gone away quietly in couples. After a few minutes.
Speaker 1: The only persons who seemed to follow the music were
Speaker 1: Mary Jane herself, her hands racing along the keyboard or
Speaker 1: lifted from it at the pauses like those of a
Speaker 1: priestess in momentary impreciation, and Aunt Kate standing at her
Speaker 1: elbow to turn the page. Gabriel's eyes, irritated by the
Speaker 1: floor which glittered with beeswax under the heavy chandelier, wandered
Speaker 1: to the wall above the piano. A picture of the
Speaker 1: balcony scene in Romeo and Juliette hung there, and beside
Speaker 1: it was a picture of the two murdered princes in
Speaker 1: the Tower, which Aunt Julia had worked in red, blue
Speaker 1: and brown woolves when she was a girl, probably in
Speaker 1: the school they had gone to. His girls that kind
Speaker 1: of work had been taught for one year. His mother
Speaker 1: had worked for him as a birthday present, waistcoat of
Speaker 1: purple tabinet with little foxes heads upon it, lined with
Speaker 1: brown satin, and having round mulberry buttons. It was strange
Speaker 1: that his mother had no musical talent, though Aunt Kate
Speaker 1: used to call her the brains carrier of the Morkan family.
Speaker 1: Both she and Julia had always seemed a little proud
Speaker 1: of their serious and matronly sister. Her photographs stood before
Speaker 1: the pier glass. She held an open book on her
Speaker 1: knee and was pointing out something in it to Constantine,
Speaker 1: who dressed in a man O war suit, lay at
Speaker 1: her feet. It was she who had chosen the name
Speaker 1: of her sons, for she was very sensible of the
Speaker 1: dignity of family life. Thanks to her, Constantine was now
Speaker 1: senior Curate in Balbrigan, and thanks to her, Gabriel himself
Speaker 1: had taken his degree in the Royal University. A shadow
Speaker 1: passed over his face as he remembered her sullen opposition
Speaker 1: to his marriage. Some slighting phrases she had used still
Speaker 1: rankled in his memory. She had once spoken of Greta
Speaker 1: as being country cute, and that was not true of
Speaker 1: Greta at all. It was Greta who had nursed her
Speaker 1: during all her last long illness in their house in Monkstown.
Speaker 1: He knew that Mary Jane must be near the end
Speaker 1: of her piece, for she was playing again the opening melody,
Speaker 1: with runs of scales after every bar, and while he
Speaker 1: waited for the end, the resentment died down in his heart.
Speaker 1: The piece ended with a trill of octaves in the treble,
Speaker 1: and finally a deep octave in the bass. Great applause
Speaker 1: greeted Mary Jane As, blushing and rolling up her music nervously,
Speaker 1: she escaped from the room. The most vigorous clapping came
Speaker 1: from the four young men in the doorway, who had
Speaker 1: gone away to the refreshment room at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the piece, but had come back when the piano had stopped.
Speaker 1: Lance were arranged. Gabriel found himself partnered with Miss Ivers.
Speaker 1: She was a frank mannered, talkative young lady with a
Speaker 1: freckled face and prominent brown eyes. She did not wear
Speaker 1: a low cut bodice in the large brooch which was
Speaker 1: fixed in the front of her collar, born Irish device
Speaker 1: and motto. When they had taken their places, she said abruptly,
Speaker 1: I have a crow to pluck with you. With me,
Speaker 1: said Gabriel. She nodded her head gravely. What is it,
Speaker 1: asked Gabriel, smiling at her solemn manner. Who is g
Speaker 1: c answered Miss Ivers, turning her eyes upon him. Gabriel
Speaker 1: colored and was about to knit his brows as if
Speaker 1: he did not understand, when she said, bluntly, O innocent Amy,
Speaker 1: I have found out that you write for the Daily Express.
Speaker 1: Now aren't you ashamed of yourself? Why should I be
Speaker 1: ashamed of myself? Asked Gabriel, blinking his eyes and trying
Speaker 1: to smile. Well, I'm ashamed of you, said miss I,
Speaker 1: frankly to say you'd write for a paper like that.
Speaker 1: I didn't think you were a West Britain. A look
Speaker 1: of perplexity appeared on Gabriel's face. It was true that
Speaker 1: he wrote a literary column every Wednesday in the Daily Express,
Speaker 1: for which he was paid fifteen shillings, but that did
Speaker 1: not make him a West Britain. Surely, the books he
Speaker 1: received for review were almost more welcome than the paltry check.
Speaker 1: He loved to feel the covers and turn over the
Speaker 1: pages of newly printed books. Nearly every day when his
Speaker 1: teaching in the college was ended, he used to wander
Speaker 1: down the keys to the second hand bookstellers to Hickey's
Speaker 1: on Bachelor's Walk to Webb's, or Massy's on Aston's Key,
Speaker 1: or a Clauchey's in the Bye Street. He did not
Speaker 1: know how to meet her charge. He wanted to say
Speaker 1: that literature was above politics. But they were friends of
Speaker 1: many years standing, and their careers had been parallel. First
Speaker 1: at the university, and then his teachers. He could not
Speaker 1: risk a grandiose phrase with her. He continued, blinking his
Speaker 1: eyes and trying to smile, and murmured lamely that he
Speaker 1: saw nothing political in writing reviews of books. When their
Speaker 1: turn to cross had come, he was still perplexed and inattentive.
Speaker 1: Miss Ivers promptly took his hand in a warm grasp
Speaker 1: and said, in a soft, friendly tone, of course, I
Speaker 1: was only joking. Come we crossed now. When they were
Speaker 1: together again, she spoke of the university, questioned, and Gabriel
Speaker 1: felt more at ease. A friend of hers had shown
Speaker 1: her his review of Browning's poems. That was how she
Speaker 1: had found out the secret. But she liked the review immensely.
Speaker 1: Then she said suddenly, oh, mister Conroy, will you come
Speaker 1: for an excursion to the Aron Isles this summer. We're
Speaker 1: going to stay there a whole month. It will be
Speaker 1: splendid out in the Atlantic. You ought to come. Mister
Speaker 1: Clancy is coming, and mister Kilkelly and Kathleen Kearney. It
Speaker 1: would be blended for Greta too if she'd come. She's
Speaker 1: from Connaught, isn't she. Her people are said Gabriel shortly.
Speaker 1: But you will come, won't you, said miss Ivers, laying
Speaker 1: her arm hand eagerly on his arm. The fact is,
Speaker 1: said Gabriel. I've just arranged to go. Go where, said
Speaker 1: Miss Ivers. Well, you know every year I go for
Speaker 1: a cycling tour with some fellows and so, but where,
Speaker 1: asked Miss Ivers. Well we usually go to France or Belgium,
Speaker 1: or perhaps Germany, said Gabriel awkwardly. And why do you
Speaker 1: go to France and Belgium, said Miss iverys instead of
Speaker 1: visiting your own land? Well, said Gabriel. It's partly to
Speaker 1: keep in touch with the language, and partly for change.
Speaker 1: And haven't you your own language to keep in touch with? Irish?
Speaker 1: Asked Miss Ivers. Well, said Gabriel. If it comes to that,
Speaker 1: you know, Irish is not my language. Their neighbors had
Speaker 1: turned to listen to the cross examination. Gabriel glanced right
Speaker 1: and left nervously and tried to keep his good humor
Speaker 1: under the ordeal, which was making a blush, and bade
Speaker 1: his forehead. And haven't you your own land visit, continued
Speaker 1: Miss Ivers, that you know nothing of your own people
Speaker 1: and your own country. Oh, to tell the truth, retorted Gabriel. Suddenly,
Speaker 1: I'm sick of my own country, sick of it, why,
Speaker 1: asked miss Ivers. Gabriel did not answer for his retort
Speaker 1: had heeded him? Why, repeated miss Ivers. They had to
Speaker 1: go visiting together, And as he had not answered her,
Speaker 1: miss Ivers said warmly, of course, you've no answer. Gabriel
Speaker 1: tried to cover his agitation by taking part in the
Speaker 1: dance with great energy. He avoided her eyes, for he
Speaker 1: had seen a sour expression on her face, But when
Speaker 1: they met in the long chain, he was surprised to
Speaker 1: feel his hand firmly pressed. She looked at him from
Speaker 1: under her brows for a moment and quizzically until he smiled. Then,
Speaker 1: just as the chain was about to start again, she
Speaker 1: stood on tiptoe and whispered into his ear West Britain.
Speaker 1: When the lancers were over, Gabriel went away to a
Speaker 1: remote corner of the room where Freddie Malins's mother was sitting.
Speaker 1: She was a stout, feeble old woman with white hair.
Speaker 1: Her voice had a catch in it, like her son's,
Speaker 1: and she stuttered slightly. She had been told that Freddie
Speaker 1: had come and that he was nearly all right. Gabriel
Speaker 1: asked her whether she had a good crossing. She lived
Speaker 1: with her married daughter in Glasgow and came to Dublin
Speaker 1: on a visit once a year. She answered placidly that
Speaker 1: she had had a beautiful crossing, and that the captain
Speaker 1: had been most attentive to her. She spoke also of
Speaker 1: the beautiful house her daughter kept in Glasgow, and of
Speaker 1: all the friends they had there. While her tongue rambled on,
Speaker 1: Gabriel tried to banish from his mind all memory of
Speaker 1: the unpleasant incident with Miss Ivers. Of course, the girl
Speaker 1: or woman or whatever she was, was an enthusiast, but
Speaker 1: there was a time for all things. Perhaps he ought
Speaker 1: not to have answered her like that, but she had
Speaker 1: no right to call him a West Britain before people,
Speaker 1: even in joke. She had tried to make him ridiculous
Speaker 1: before people, heckling him and staring at him with her
Speaker 1: rabbit's eyes. He saw his wife making her way towards
Speaker 1: him through the waltzing couples. When she reached him, she
Speaker 1: said into his ear, Gabriel, Aunt Kate wants to know.
Speaker 1: Won't you carve the goose as usual? Miss Daly will
Speaker 1: carve the ham, and I'll do the pudding. All right,
Speaker 1: said Gabriel. She's sending in the younger ones first as
Speaker 1: soon as this waltz is over, so that we'll have
Speaker 1: the table to ourselves. Were you dancing, asked Gabriel. Of
Speaker 1: course I was. Didn't you see me? What row? Had
Speaker 1: you with? Molly Ivers? No? Raw? Why did she say
Speaker 1: so something like that. I'm trying to get that mister
Speaker 1: Darcy to sing. He's full of conceit. I think there
Speaker 1: is no row, said Gabriel moodily. Only she wanted me
Speaker 1: to go for a trip to the west of Ireland,
Speaker 1: and I said I wouldn't. His wife clasped her hands
Speaker 1: excitedly and gave a little jump. Oh do go, Gabriel,
Speaker 1: she cried, I'd love to see Galway again. You can
Speaker 1: go if you like, said Gabriel coldly. She looked at
Speaker 1: him for a moment, then turned to Missus Mallins and said,
Speaker 1: there's a nice husband for you, Missus Mallins. While she
Speaker 1: was threading her way back across the room, Missus Mallins,
Speaker 1: without averting to interruption, went on to tell Gabriel what
Speaker 1: beautiful places there were in Scotland and beautiful scenery. Her
Speaker 1: son in law brought them every year to the lakes,
Speaker 1: and they used to go fishing. Her son in law
Speaker 1: was a splendid fisher. One day he caught a beautiful
Speaker 1: big fish, and the man in the hotel cooked it
Speaker 1: for their dinner. Gabriel hardly heard what she said. Now
Speaker 1: that supper was coming near, he began to think again
Speaker 1: about his speech and about the quotation. When he saw
Speaker 1: Freddy Malins coming across the room to visit his mother.
Speaker 1: Gabriel left the chair free for him and retired into
Speaker 1: the embrasure of the window. The room had already cleared,
Speaker 1: and from the back room came the clatter of plates
Speaker 1: and knives. Those who still remained in the drawing room
Speaker 1: seemed tired of dancing and were conversing quietly in little groups.
Speaker 1: Gabriel's warm, trembling fingers tapped the cold pane of the window.
Speaker 1: How cool it must be outside, How pleasant it would
Speaker 1: be to walk out alone, first along by the river
Speaker 1: and then through the park. The snow would be lying
Speaker 1: on the branches of the trees and forming a bright
Speaker 1: cap on top of the Wellington Monument. How much more
Speaker 1: pleasant it would be there than at the supper table.
Speaker 1: And of part one of the Dead by James Joyce